Cape Town, My City.

Happy Happy!

Even after severe warnings that I would be facing imminent drugging and sexual abuse from the predators that would be lurking and circling like sharks in the feeding frenzy that is Long Street, I still went. Driven by pure determination to spend my first New Years among the crazy crowd that inhabits Long Street after hours, I devised a three step safety plan.

1. No drinks from strangers – or rather – no opened drinks from strangers
2. Don’t leave the club with a stranger
3. Have an ICE (In Case of Emergency) number on me.

Why Long Street particularly you may ask. For me, the street encompasses most which I admire about the city. Long Street is one of the oldest streets in Cape Town with a length of 3.8 kilometers and rich in history plus is laden with numerous Victorian buildings. These gorgeous buildings have since become home to various book shops, galleries, music, photo and travel shops, trendy clothing shops, cosy restaurants that serve African, Indian and other international foods and a host of clubs… which are all my favourite things.

No tour of Cape Town is complete without wandering down the glittering road called Long Street. It pulls in a colourful crowd and is the breeding ground of all things unorthodox. So with my purse and cell phone left behind and a few Rands shoved into my trusty clutch bag, I headed off to The Dubliner – an Irish Pub where I met up with Mags, my side kick for the night. A drink later, it was off to what promised to be an amazing night as we hopped from this club to the other. Hours and many, many, drinks later, Mags and I found ourselves in the street and in the thick of things with a marching band blaring and dancing along to colourful tunes… a spectacle synonymous to Cape Town.

With hazy vision, boerewors roll in one hand and my trusty clutch bag in the other, I witnessed my first entry into the New Year as a Capetonian. Not so glam, but hey nothing ever is after many, many drinks later.